Wednesday 23 November 2011

Groundhog Day- Title Sequence Design Mock-ups

For our task we were asked to create a title sequence for a UK remake of the film 'Groundhog Day' which will be produced by Working Title films and starring Russell Brand, Emma Watson and Hugh Grant.
As a group, me, Sam, Kiera and Alex came up with an idea to make our title sequence in a cartoon style which could be similar to those of the 'Catch Me if You Can' title sequence. The title sequence would include Russell Brand's character going on a journey of his day whilst meeting some of the other characters that star in the film. The title sequence would be against a London city skyline which would be in the background through most of the title sequence.
Emma Watson cartoon mock up
Hugh Grant Cartoon mock up


Russell Brand Cartoon Mock up
Another Russell Brand Cartoon Mock up



Mock up of a part from the title sequence


Backdrop Mock up

Monday 21 November 2011

Title Sequence Notes (4.11.11)

A title sequence is the method by which films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sounds

FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE EVERYTHING


A title sequence will usually consist of:

  • Details of cast and crew
  • the films titles
  • An introduction to character or character type
  • Indication of place
  • indication of historical period
  • information regarding mod and tone
  • introduction to signature theme tune
  • information about genre
  • questions that the viewer finds intriguing (or, setting up enigmas)
  • patterns and types of editing that will be echoed in the remainder of the film
  • Mise en Scene and cinematography that will be echoed or elaborated upon later in the film.
On his title sequence for the film 'Se7en' Kyle Cooper said:
"The form should be born out of the content."

Saul Bass- Title Sequence designer


Saul Bass was a 'commercial' artist who was born in 1920 and died in 1996 aged 75.
Bass studied at the Arts Student League in New York but soon moved to Los Angeles to escape from creative constraints. There he became a freelance artist and designer. In 1950 Bass opened his own advertising studio.
Saul Bass is best known for use of simple, geometric shapes and what they symbolise. Often, he would use a single dominant image which would stand alone to deliver a powerful message.
Bass's posters and titles had an uncanny ability to capture the mood of a film with simple shapes and images. This was his preferred method of title design as opposed to using photographs of the films star, which he saw as boring.
Bass was influenced by constructivist and Bauhaus propaganda.
Between the years of 1970 and 1986 Bass only created a handful of film title sequences.

Richard Morrison- Title Designer Research

Zombieland Opening title sequence Analysis


The genre of the film ‘Zombieland’ is constructed using various snippets and shots of scenarios before the zombie outbreak. During the opening we are shown various scenarios of people trying to fight the zombies or run away from them. This allows the audience to know that the film is a horror film and particularly a Zombie apocalypse film. The opening sequence also allows the audience to recognise that the film is also a comedy. This is shown with the use of the scenarios, each of the shots show a person trying to fight off a zombie attack but each doing this in a comedic manor. One method of attack being a man fighting them off with a machine gun whilst wearing a white tuxedo, as if he was the lead actor in a zombie film.
The titles show various characters at the outbreak of a zombie apocalypse. An aspect of the sequence is the text. As the characters approach the text it splits and moves away from the actor as if they are walking or running through it. These titles also act as a prologue for the film as they show the zombie outbreak in a short 2 minute sequence rather than spending 20 minutes of the film establishing the outbreak. This way the film is able to begin with the characters sometime after the outbreak and enable us to recognise that the lead characters have learnt how to deal with the outbreak. This could create various enigmas, one being how the zombie apocalypse broke out.
Ben Conrad may have chosen to create the sequence like a mini prologue to help the story. The mini prologue helps the story as it means the writer does not need to spend time writing how the outbreak began which is typically done in many zombie films. It also helps the audience to believe that some of the characters have established rules on how to survive the zombie apocalypse.

Preliminary Coursework- Continuity Editing Sequence - Media



For our piece of coursework we were set a preliminary task to film and edit a continuity piece which had to involve 3 elements. The three elements of the task involved shooting a piece of Match on action, a shot-reverse shot and the 180-degree rule. For our task we had to film somebody walk into room, sit down and have a conversation with somebody else, already in the room. For our piece we decided upon one character walking into the room whilst singing along to 'What Make's You Beautiful' by One Direction.
We managed to fit each of the required elements in pretty well and also didn't struggle too much in the filming and editing side but did struggle on coming up with an idea for the task. As a group we had come up with many different ideas of what the film would involve but eventually came to the decision of using the song 'What Makes You Beautiful' as a basis for the piece.
In the filming side I helped film the majority of the office shoots while another member filmed the corridor shoots and also filmed the Match on action of the door being opened. The other two members of the group starred in the piece.
In the Future, something we could improve upon would be spending more time planning the shots and filming than spending the time thinking of an idea of what our piece would be about.